Bob Crawford of the Avett Brothers: Band has 'so much more presence now'

Thursday

Sep 8, 2016 at 12:01 AMSep 8, 2016 at 4:32 PM

The sleeping habits of the folk-rocking Avett Brothers help bass player Bob Crawford gauge the success of a show. An early bedtime means a poor night's sleep. "If you get on the bus and everybody's already in bed, you know somebody's had a bad night," he said. "But if you get on the bus and everybody's having a glass of wine, you know it's been a good night."

Julia Oller, Columbus Dispatch

An early bedtime, Bob Crawford knows, means a poor night’s sleep.

The sleeping habits of the folk-rocking Avett Brothers help the bass player gauge the success of a show.

“If you get on the bus and everybody’s already in bed, you know somebody’s had a bad night,” he said. “But if you get on the bus and everybody’s having a glass of wine, you know it’s been a good night.”

Crawford, having spent 15 years with the band fronted by brothers Scott and Seth Avett, has a feel for the many personalities involved.

Once the deciding vote when the group had three members and the brothers were split, he occupies more of a supporting role with the addition in recent years of fiddle player Tania Elizabeth, pianist Paul Defiglia, cellist Joe Kwon and drummer Mike Marsh.

“We finally have a band,” said Crawford, 45. “It was just three guys trying to make music. We did pretty good at times, but, having seven of us, there’s so much more presence now.”

The seven will make that presence known this evening when they headline a concert at Express Live.

Their more dynamic sound, Crawford said, prompted experimentation with synthesizers and a few electronic beats for the ninth studio album, “True Sadness” — produced by the legendary Rick Rubin and released in June.

The additional musicians, meanwhile, offer more freedom onstage.

Whereas the former trio had fewer options to expand or contract the lineup, the burgeoning band has the flexibility to perform a stripped-down version of the hit “I and Love and You” or amplify every instrument for the rousing “Ain’t No Man.”

The strong sense of community within the group lifted Crawford after doctors discovered in 2011 that his 2-year-old daughter had a brain tumor. He was replaced for almost a year by former Langhorne Slim bass player Defiglia but felt support from fellow members throughout the ordeal.

“When they weren’t playing, there was always someone from the organization at the hospital with my wife and me,” he said of the first few weeks of his daughter’s treatment.

At age 7, the youngster has made a full recovery.

Still, along with the rest of the Avett Brothers and the Avett Nation fan base, Crawford continues to raise money to aid pediatric-cancer research — including about $8,000 this year.

Similar levels of support allow the band mates to pursue interests outside the recording studio.

Scott Avett has become an accomplished painter, as has Elizabeth. Seth Avett, who launched a solo career in 2001, has released three albums.

Four months ago, Crawford started a podcast, “The Road to Now,” with history professor Ben Sawyer of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.

The duo records weekly episodes about current events viewed through a historical lens. Sawyer flies to the cities on tour to help interview guests; Crawford edits the results.

The other side of the interviewing process seems a bit strange to a musician accustomed to pouring out his soul to reporters.

“It’s a whole different way of thinking,” Crawford said. “It’s something I’m very new at, and I’m trying to get better.”

Although he has found another creative outlet through the podcast, he views music-making as his No. 1 priority — and will continue to do so for as long as possible, he said.

“I really don’t have anything else to do,” he said. “I’m 45 years old, and I’ve been doing this for 15 years, and this is pretty much my job — so, hopefully, for another 15 years.”

joller@dispatch.com

@juliaoller

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